Wills, Trusts & Estates
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March 19, 2024
Ottawa appeals declaration of constitutional requirement for timely federal judicial appointments
“Stay in your lane” — those words might encapsulate the thrust of the federal government’s message to the Federal Court in Ottawa's appeal of a recent groundbreaking judgment, which declared that the prime minister and federal justice minister are constitutionally obliged to fix the lengthy federal judicial appointment delays that have for years bedeviled litigants, lawyers and judges.
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March 18, 2024
Fiduciary accounting for Ontario trustees: Guide for executors, attorneys for property
The duty to account refers to the obligation of persons acting in a fiduciary capacity, such as a trustee, executor or attorney or guardian for property, to keep records of the assets and liabilities they are managing on behalf of others and be able to accurately report their activities and results when required. The obligation first arose from equity and common law.
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March 15, 2024
Supreme Court rules limited statutory rights of appeal do not preclude access to judicial review
In a 9-0 judgment supportive of litigants’ access to judicial review, the Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that a limited statutory right of appeal in a case does not preclude judicial review for matters not the subject of appeal, i.e. where there is an appeal right limited to questions of law, judicial review is available for questions of fact or mixed fact and law.
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March 12, 2024
Jan. 1, 2026: U.S. estate tax heading toward a cliff
There is increasing uncertainty about the future of U.S. estate tax. On the one hand, under U.S. legislation that temporarily halved the lifetime exemption amount passed during the Trump administration, the lifetime exclusion amount is set to decrease on Jan. 1, 2026, to US$5 million adjusted for inflation since 2011, unless legislation is passed by Congress.
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March 08, 2024
Wills, Trusts, & Estates - CIVIL PROCEDURE - Disposition without trial - Dismissal of action - Application to set aside
Appeal by appellant of the Chambers judge’s decision dismissing Estate’s application to set aside a default judgment.
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March 07, 2024
Modernizing national security laws could also clarify threshold to invoke Emergencies Act: LeBlanc
Ottawa is considering reforming the threshold for invoking the federal Emergencies Act, as part of a broader “more holistic review of national security legislation,” with the Liberal government committed to introducing amendments to “modernize” the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) Act, the Security of Information Act, and the Criminal Code “in the coming months,” says Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc.
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March 05, 2024
Federal lawyers ratify new collective agreement gains that achieve ‘comparable’ pay to Ontario Crowns
Members of the union representing more than 3,300 federal government lawyers and Crowns voted overwhelmingly to ratify a “hard won” new collective agreement, featuring pay increases of 12.5 per cent (13.14 per cent compounded) over four years — and making the pay rates for federal Crowns “comparable” to those of their Ontario counterparts, who are the highest paid public-sector lawyers in Canada, says the Association of Justice Counsel (AJC).
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March 04, 2024
Canada sanctions six Russians ‘involved’ in Alexei Navalny’s ‘ill treatment and death’ in prison
Canada has announced dealings bans, including asset freezes, and entry bans against six Russians for their roles in “gross and systematic human rights violations;” the list includes “senior officials or high-ranking employees in Russia’s prosecution, judicial and penitentiary services who were involved in the ill-treatment and death” last month in an Arctic prison of Alexei Navalny, Russia’s most prominent opposition leader and outspoken critic of Russian president Vladimir Putin’s kleptocratic regime.
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March 01, 2024
SCC rules police must get prior judicial authorization to seek IP addresses in crime investigations
The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled 5-4 that there is a reasonable expectation of privacy in IP addresses, which attracts the Charter’s s. 8 protection against unreasonable search or seizure and requires police investigating crimes to get prior judicial authorization to seek IP addresses from third parties.
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March 01, 2024
Reports on harassment, specialization, helpline released for Ontario Convocation
Almost all of the Law Society of Ontario’s most recent Convocation was held behind closed doors, but several reports were published detailing numbers around harassment complaints against lawyers, members becoming certified specialists and those making use of the regulator’s practice helpline.